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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · court · pitch · saw · snap · mine · tear · cue

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cue — for pool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitch — completely
  12. mine — for digging
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. court — of law
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. snap — to click
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com